Background
She was born in Kearney, Nebraska (1940), the daughter of Walter M. Ely, an engineer who built radio stations in the Midwest and later worked for the Federal Aviation Administration, and Erva Nell Liston.
( In 1931, at age 24, Norton Simon invested $7,000 in a b...)
In 1931, at age 24, Norton Simon invested $7,000 in a bankrupt juice bottling plant. This investment grew into Hunt Foods, which soon ruled California's canned tomatoes empire. With a rare ability to transform laggard companies into highly profitable enterprises, Simon went on to amass a huge fortune. Then, in his late forties, he turned to art collecting and built one of the greatest private collections since World War II. Suzanne Muchnic has written an intimate and very readable biography of Norton Simon and at the same time provides a thoughtful overview of Los Angeles culture in the postwar years. The tycoon-turned-art-collector was accused of knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing, but he pursued art with passion. A shrewd negotiator, obsessed by power, Simon astonished the art world with acquisitions ranging from Old Masters to Impressionists to rare Indian and Asian artworks. Searching for an appropriate home for his 12,000-strong collection, Simon courted (and disappointed) numerous California museums before eventually taking over the floundering Pasadena Art Museum, now the Norton Simon Museum. Simon's influence extended beyond the business and art world: as a University of California regent he challenged funding cutbacks, sympathized with student activists, and opposed the firing of Angela Davis. His personal life was equally tumultuous and included a difficult divorce, his 31-year-old son's suicide, a whirlwind courtship and marriage to actress Jennifer Jones, and a run for the U.S. Senate. Simon died in 1993, and during his last ten years Suzanne Muchnic was the only person to whom he granted an interview. Odd Man In reveals a man very much of his time—brilliant, anxious, powerful, and caught up in the rapid change and cultural ambiguity of Southern California in the second half of the century.
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She was born in Kearney, Nebraska (1940), the daughter of Walter M. Ely, an engineer who built radio stations in the Midwest and later worked for the Federal Aviation Administration, and Erva Nell Liston.
Bachelor, Scripps College, 1962. Master of Arts, Claremont Graduate School, 1963.
Art instructor Weber State College, Ogden, Utah, 1972—1973. Art history instructor Los Angeles City College, 1974—1983. Art criticism instructor Claremont Graduate School, 1984.
Editor for Southern California, Artweek, 1976—1978. Art writer Los Angeles Times, 1978---2009. Los Angeles correspondent Arthews magazine, 1990—2003 and 2010 to present.
( In 1931, at age 24, Norton Simon invested $7,000 in a b...)
(First Edition)
Author: Tim Nordin retrospective catalogue, 1982, Martha Alf retrospective catalogue, 1984, Mark Lere catalogue, 1986, Taiwan Museum of Art catalogue essay, 1988, The World Book Year Book art essays, 1993-1995, Odd Man In: Norton Simon and the Pursuit of Culture, 1998, Karl Benjamin catalogue essay, 2011, Samella Lewis catalogue essay, 2012, Helen Lundeberg: Poetry Space Silence, 2014, LACMA So Far: Portrait of a Museum in the Making, 2015.
Member of International Association Art Critics, Art Table.
Married Paul D. Muchnic, 1963.